Warm Stroopwaffels on Chilly Streets: A Trip to Amsterdam

I sat back in my seat, amazed that I had entered another country in the span of just a few minutes without so much as a passport check. This is an advantage of living in the European Union (EU), which is a group of 27 countries that share border rules, making it very easy to travel to neighboring countries, so long as these countries are also in the E.U.. Since my destination, Amsterdam, is on the very west side of the Netherlands near the North Sea, I had to cross the whole country to get there. Luckily, though, the Netherlands is a very small country: to give you an idea, it covers less land area than the US state of West Virginia! So it only took two hours from where I crossed the border to reach Amsterdam. (Can you imagine driving just two hours from San Antonio and being on the other side of the country? I definitely can't!)

Here are the top reasons why I love this city:

• The buildings are tall, skinny, and colorful, with lots of windows and balconies. You can tell that each of them has an interesting story to tell.
• You can find plants and flowers everywhere: in shop windows, spilling over brick walls, and even on the railings of bridges.
• Speaking of bridges, Amsterdam is famous for its canals. Have any of you been to the San Antonio Riverwalk? Imagine if the Riverwalk extended all over the city, with bridges crisscrossing the water at different spots. That's kind of what the canals are like. 
• The food is really good. See below!